Research and Development

The University of Manchester completed the £20 million Dalton Cumbrian Facility in November of 2011. The laboratory is located in Moor Row, Cumbria, in the Westlakes Science and Technology Park. Housing the Dalton Nuclear Institute, the facility will support research on radiochemistry, radiation science, nuclear engineering, decommissioning, and radioactive waste management. The project team includes Wilson Mason Architects, project manager Drivers Jonas Deloitte, and contractor Morgan Sindall.

Lockheed Martin is building the NextGen Cyber Innovation and Technology Centre (NCITE) in Canberra, Australia. The 9,687-sf facility will support the creation of advanced military cybersecurity technologies. The building will house 200 employees and is expected to open in March of 2012.

The University of Minnesota has installed a new wind turbine at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory in Minneapolis. The 2.5 megawatt Clipper Liberty wind turbine will support teaching, research, and training for the sustainable energy industry. The turbine was funded by an award of $7.9 million in federal stimulus funding.

The University of Strathclyde opened the $58 million Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences in November of 2011 in Glasgow. The 86,111-sf facility was designed by Sheppard Robson to accommodate interdisciplinary research and development of advanced therapeutics. The six-story project houses a 160-seat teaching lab, research labs, a cleanroom, and the departments of physiology, bioscience, immunology, pharmaceutical sciences, and pharmacology.

Scripps has selected e-Builder Enterprise software to standardize construction administration processes across its ongoing capital program. e-Builder will provide the Scripps Facility Design & Construction (FD&C) group with an integrated system to manage cost tracking, document tracking, bidding, contract approval, invoice approval, RFIs, PCOs, and change orders with e-Builder’s workflow automation platform.

Construction began in August of 2011 on the $168 million Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center in Holyoke. Representing a partnership of MIT, Harvard, Boston University, Northeastern University, and the University of Massachusetts system, the two-story, 90,000-sf complex is strategically sited to benefit from hydroelectric power resources and lower electricity costs. The project will support the computational research needs of the five institutions.

Construction began in November of 2011 on the $62.9 million Advanced Rare Isotope Laboratory (ARIEL) in Vancouver. The facility is being built at the University of British Columbia at TRIUMF, Canada's national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics. The 36,662-sf project will include an underground beam tunnel for the production of rare isotopes for medicine and research. The duration of construction will be 18 months. The facility represents a collaborative partnership of thirteen universities led by the University of Victoria.

Primus Solutions has been awarded a contract to provide facility operations and maintenance support services to the Department of Homeland Security at Plum Island Animal Disease Center in Orient Point, N.Y. The contract, which has one base year plus four one-year options, is valued at $85 million.

GE Aviation broke ground on an advanced manufacturing facility for jet engine components on October 31, 2011. The 300,000-sf project is located in Auburn, Ala. Occupancy is expected in late 2012. The facility will support collaborative workforce development with Auburn University and Tuskegee University.

Utah State University’s USTAR BioInnovations Center was awarded LEED Gold sustainable design certification in October of 2011. The project team for the $60 million facility included AJC Architects and Gramoll Construction. The three-year project was completed within budget and ahead of schedule. Dedicated in October of 2010, the 118,000-sf building houses advanced life science research labs for several groups, including Synthetic BioManufacturing, Applied Nutrition Research, and Veterinary Diagnostics and Infectious Disease (VDID).

Southern Research Institute began site work in November of 2011 for a business incubator facility in Birmingham, Ala. The $4.6 million project will support commercialization of research discoveries for the company's defense and engineering divisions. The 18,000-sf facility will include a large structures lab for the development of aircraft and satellite components. 

The University of California, Berkeley dedicated the $267 million Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences in October of 2011. Designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, the 200,000-gsf, five-story facility provides 30 flexible research labs, a teaching lab, lecture halls, seminar rooms, a brain imaging center, and biocontainment space. An animal research laboratory and vivarium is located on the basement level. The center houses the Henry H. Wheeler Jr.

The University of Virginia dedicated the $75 million Physical and Life Sciences Research Building in October of 2011 in Charlottesville. Designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the five-story, 100,000-sf facility provides flexible research laboratories for 25 faculty members and their teams. The basement houses low-vibration space for advanced instrumentation. Construction manager W.M. Jordan Company of Richmond delivered the project in 39 months.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is planning to build the $294 million Center for Innovative Science. The 350,000-sf facility will house 375 researchers and support staff. The project includes renovation of an existing 150,000-sf building and 200,000 sf of new construction. The Center for Innovative Science will accommodate research on personalized medicine, the biology of cancer and aging, and genetic and environmental factors that contribute to disease. Occupancy is expected in late 2014.